That, of course, promises nothing. If he can make a strong enough impression on the Falcons' brass this weekend, he'll continue on his road to playing professional football, but he can be cut at any time as the franchise ultimately pares down its roster to 53 in order to comply with league rules.

If not, it's onto the next tryout or minicamp in a different city, where he'll hope for a better result.

"It's never easy," Sales said. "I've been through a lot playing football in college. It's the mindset you gotta have. I've been through a lot. I'm just ready to go through the gauntlet. If I gotta start from the bottom, that's what I'll do."

Sales was expected to be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent prospect in this year's NFL Draft. He said his phone rang early Saturday, the draft's final day, and was told the Houston Texans could be a potential landing spot for him with one of their sixth-round picks. Sales' former teammate at Syracuse, Alec Lemon, received a similar call and agreed to terms with the Texans over the weekend.

"I'm pretty sure they're gonna try to overload us and see how we react to that," Sales said. "I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a lot of conditioning stuff and see what type of endurance we have. I'm pretty sure they're gonna put us through tests. I'm trying to get my mind right now. I'm ready for that. There's gonna be one-on-ones, seven-on-sevens. It's just football. It can't be too different from college. Coming from Coach (Doug) Marrone, I'm pretty sure that a lot of things we did will help me out."

Syracuse Assistant Athletics Director for Athletic Performance Will Hicks has worked out several NFL-eligible players on campus this offseason and put Sales and a few more through an endurance workout earlier Monday. The wide receiver will continue to train each day this week up until he departs for Atlanta. Then he'll leave behind his two young sons while he chases his NFL dream.

"I got real good family support," Sales said. "They'll always have a roof over their head. I'm pretty sure if it doesn't work out this weekend, I'll try out for someone else."

And on and on it could go.

He said his phone didn't ring until 9 p.m. after the draft and he decided to hold off on choosing the Falcons until Sunday evening so he could make the best decision for where to go. Sales also was invited to minicamps in New Orleans and Cincinnati, among others.

"It's definitely nerve-racking," he said. "We all heard stories how strict the NFL is and how you can be on a team one day and the next you can be at home. You get a little taste of that. Whenever we get the call, we just gotta be ready no matter what the situation is. This isn't college. We gotta know this is our job and you have to be a professional about it and just be ready any time."